Watched in 2020.
First Thai drama I have watched. A Thai historical drama series which was first aired in 2018 in Thailand, but shown in my country during the start of the Covid period. Watching it on TV had been one of the things to look forward to each weekend!
Really like the pairing Belle and Pope. Highly recommended. Got me interested in the history of Thailand as well.
Good show. Good chemistry. Refreshing to have a cheeky male lead and strong female lead character. Fantasy, wuxia. Not too complex easy to follow for layman like me. Enjoyed the animations.
Watched in July 2015
Story timeline Sui Dynasty 580-600AD
Randomly chanced upon this show, but am glad I did. It was a pleasant find!
There aren’t that many familiar faces in this show. I must say, there was only one eye candy in this show, Yuan Hong – who played 13th Prince in Bu Bu Jing Xin. He was a loveable and suave character then, he is a even more loveable and cute character in this show. He plays a “nerd” Zhao Yu who can be quite daft at times. But that makes his character funny and enjoyable to watch! I like Mu Lan and Zhao Yu. Unfortunately the 3rd Prince was not shuai enough, else it would be a really difficult choice in this love triangle.
Plot wise – I am not sure if Mulan was a real person in history, it seems like no one knows which period she existed in. This Mulan story it’s set in the period between Zhou and Sui Dynasty. We all know Mulan, maybe because of childhood influence by Disney, but she is famous as a female general who went to join the army in place of her father. The plot line is thus not new, but this show managed to add comedy and enough freshness to a known plot line. This show can be characterised as one of those 女扮男装, where a female strives to survive in a world led by men.
I thought the pace of the show was well done and had enough interesting dialogue and exchanges for one to keep watching without skipping too much.
All in all, good show and recommended! I think it is a pity that not many seem to know about this show!♥♥♥
Actors/actresses to watch for: Yuan Hong
Random thought:I thought it was interesting how Emperor Wen Yang Jian had few concubines and loved his wife.
I had to comment on this even when it was ongoing.
It is a drama about Tokuzo Akiyama’s ordeals and journey in achieving his dream and becoming the chef of the Emperor of Japan. Set in the early 1900s.
I was attracted to the show purely because of Takeru Sato. But the show and plot had been great so far in capturing love and dreams. Very inspiring.
Edit: Finished the show last week. It had been a great 12 weeks. This show made end-of-Mondays worth looking forward to each week.
There are many things worth watching for. First, all actors and actresses were captivating and loveable. There were a few points where you would cringe (like the last episode), but otherwise, you will root and love every single character in this show. Takeru Sato was especially worth mentioning – his acting was varied, and impressive in portraying the growth of a young rash boy, who was easily bored, deemed useful and could not stay interested in any task for more than 3 months, to an respectable old chef devoted to serving the Emperor, the craft of cooking and who loves his wife dearly. Takeru Sato’s character and acting, through in this show, grew definitely by leaps and bounds from his previous idol-type or rookie-type roles. Kuroki who acted as Toshiko (Tokuzo’s wife) isn’t a beauty at first sight, but she was appealing in her own way by the end of the show.
I loved the love story between Tokuzo and his wife Toshiko. I particularly liked how he did not express his love for his wife in a direct way but we all know very well that he loved her very much through all’s that he had done for her. Definitely a couple you will root for (and cry for).
Inspiring plot. Akiyama Tokuzo’s contribution to french cuisine in Japan makes one want to look for that one thing that we hope to devote our entire life to, to excel, to hone our skills, to contribute. Isn’t that what we live for, our value in life.
I wished that producers had given the wonderful dishes prepared by Tokuro a little bit more screen time and some explanation. There was a lot of emphasis on Tokuzo’s cooking skills (there were many scenes of Takeru chopping, dicing, slicing and peeling), but little explanation of the dishes that were served. I suppose if they did that, it would not just be 12 episodes but 20 episodes long.
For the amount of tears shed, I definitely rate this show highly! ♥♥♥♥♥ (My highest rating thus far!)
Actors/actresses to watch out for: Takeru Sato
Story timeline ~564-577AD (Northern Qi-Northern Zhou)
One of my most skipped dramas. The scenes with bad guys were unbearable, so I literally skipped through all of it. I think even though I did that, I caught enough story to remain entertained – probably only caught one-third of the show but that would suffice for now. Having said what I said, I still liked the show, no regrets watching it, and have lots to comment on this show.
First on plot. Some spoilers ahead.
This drama is about Lan Ling Wang – or Gao Chang gong, who was a general and prince of Northern Qi known for being one of four best looking man in Chinese history and a witty general. It starts right before his famous battle of having led only 500 men and defeated the enemy’s troop of 100,000. The plot is built on the premise that he will be killed soon but his fate was changed after he met a heavenly girl Yang Xue Wu.
There were some references to history and got me interested to know more about Lan Ling Wang. He apparently had been a great leader, and warrior, loved his people and soldiers. Only took one wife… (not sure how true) When he knew that he getting a lot of attention and support (he had a war dance named after him!), he took bribes on purpose to make himself look bad. But because of jealously, he was poisoned to death. (This story takes place when Gao Zhan was emperor I think, Gao Zhan is Lan Ling Wang’s uncle.)
In this drama, Lan Ling Wang did not die fortunately. But Yang Xue Wu did in the end! After I learnt that it was not a happy ending, it took me a while before I decided to complete the show. But why did she have to die? Even after completing the show, I still am not too sure why they could not have a happy ending at the end. So this show has a terrible ending. Btw, costumes were weird but bearable.
Next, on casting and characters. I chanced upon this drama and started watching but stopped at episode 2 or 3 because of the scene where Yang Xue Wu first met Lan Ling Wang and mistook him as a girl. 太勉强了！I thought. Feng Shao Feng did not look like a pretty boy who could be mistaken as a girl. Of course, he looked good – like any good-looking Chinese general should be. But perhaps not the legendary ancient pretty-man Lan Ling Wang, who was said to be so pretty that he had to wear a mask when fighting a war to look fearsome. While watching the show, Feng Shao Feng as Lan Ling Wang started to appeal to me. In fact, over time he was the only one who I thought worth watching. He was suave and quite cute at times. Especially in the scenes with Yang Xue Wu.
Now, Yang Xue Wu or Ariel Lin was very natural, as well as entertaining but it felt like her character was from another era, it felt like I was watching a Taiwan idol drama rather than a Chinese period drama. I would have preferred a different Yang Xue Wu. Daniel Chan was surprisingly good but for some reason he had a discoloured forehead throughout the whole show. Wu Ye is quite cute too.
I have to add that the songs were good!
All in all, I do not mind rewatching this show, but it would only be for Lan Ling Wang (Feng Shao Feng).
Rating: ❤︎❤︎
Actors/actresses to watch for: Feng Shao Feng
I generally like period dramas, regardless of the country origin. I like the historical and cultural references and enjoy researching, seeking historical accuracies while watching. Sometimes I will have Chrome up and be searching away while watching. Add a dash of romance, wit and cast I like, the drama will not be far from the top of my favourites list.
Nobunaga Concerto definitely satisfied these criteria. At first glance, one may associate the title with manga titles like Nodame Cantabile. But the story is very different. It’s about a high school boy who time slipped back to the warring states era and took Oda Nobunaga’s identity. A historic background with Oguri Shun, and Mukai Osamu was definitely enough to get me started.
While it is not quite true to historical events, it retains key events in history, characters, the alliances and betrayals. It weaves in a modern character and ideas of present society and draws laughter in the audience through the witty conversations and plot twists.
Rating: ❤︎❤︎❤︎
Actors/actresses to watch for: Oguri Shun, Osamu Mukai
Watched this drama some time ago, but in my effort to document the dramas I have watched, I decided to make some quick comments:
While I think no one can beat Lin Ching Hsia as Dong Fang Bu Bai, Chen Qiao En did make a convincing pitch, given that in this version, the writers decided to change the story – Dong Fang Bu Bai was actually a woman but was disguised as a man. Chen Qiao En makes effort to fulfil her role as Dong Fang Bu Bai, and I commend her for her effort. The writers also did a good job in pairing Chen Qiao En with Wallace Huo (they were a good pair) plus Chen Qiao En was loveable as Dong Fang Bu Bai. I was rooting for them!
On the other hand, it was unfortunate that Ren Ying Ying was not as loveable. So when I realised that Dong Fang Bu Bai was not meant to be with Ling Hu Chong, I literally skipped the last maybe ten episodes and watched the final episode.
Surprise factor: Chen Xiao as Ling Ping Zhi
Rating: ♥♥
Actors/Actresses to watch for: Wallace Huo, Chen Qiao En
Watched
Story timeline ~Tang Dynasty (618-907)
For a long-time closet fan of Raymond Lam and Michelle Yip, I am utterly disappointed with the show 紫钗奇缘.
To be fair, I should start with the merits of the show. It tried to bring in elements of dance and music and portray life back in the Tang dynasty. Lots of colour, lots of glamour. Of course, the other merits of this show is the reunion of Raymond and Michelle in another drama. I still like the couple, but I fell out of love with the show.
I think that sums up the merits of this show. All in all, I probably only enjoyed one-tenth of the time spent and mostly was in the first half.
Of course, the ending was terrible for a fan like me, but all in all I thought the plot was very distracted. It was not clear if it was trying to be a romance-based drama or not. The plot and transitions were badly stitched, to the point that it was confusing. I was somewhat lost and bored after a while. The plot and progression did not do justice to all who have acted in this show. Too much tears in the show but not out in the audience I think.
Rating: ♥
Actors/Actresses: Michelle Ye, Raymond Lam
Story timeline ~560AD
Watched – 29/3/15-1/4/15
Great show, great acting. Absolutely fell in love with Chen Xiao who plays Gao Zhan. Plot can get a little boring as it is almost at the verge of being repetitive with Gao Zhan and Lu Zhen’s 离离合合 (constant separation and reconciliation). Nevertheless, there is always some progression of plot with each sub-arc and good portrayal of unwavering love between the main two characters. Lots of scheming and deaths but nothing that will turn a fan away or leave her disappointed.
As for the actors and actresses, I think it is a good mix with some familiar faces to ex-Hong Kong drama fan, useful to help distinguish one character from another.
Not too convinced of its historical references, much of it is probably fabricated and not true to history. Little Chinese literary fluff, though I would enjoyed it more with some of these educational elements.
Overall, I will rate this on par with BBJX (if not better)! Recommended to those who like romantic period dramas and will likely watch it again. ♥♥♥♥
Actors/Actresses to watch for: Chen Xiao
dreaming in ningzheaven 